NEW YORK-
An Israeli airliner flew the holiest book in Judaism to Tel Aviv on Friday–billing it the first “Sky Torah” to be used for prayer in flight.
The Israir plane, carrying 260 passengers, landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Friday morning with the handwritten scroll. It was accompanied by rabbis as it left Thursday from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The five books of Moses are to be used on board for Monday and Thursday prayers–the days when a part of the Torah is traditionally read during worship.
Before its departure from Kennedy, a throng of children and other Jewish faithful sang and danced around the Torah, which was carried onto the plane under a chuppah, or a ritual Jewish wedding canopy.
The procession was dedicated to the memory of Israeli soldiers who died defending the country’s borders; celebrants included Nissim Elmaliach, rabbi of the Israel Airport Authority at Ben Gurion.
Israir said it is the first airline to maintain an authentic Torah scroll on board its aircraft. It plans to alternate which of its aircraft use the Torah scroll over time.
The 10-year-old carrier’s fleet of a half dozen planes takes more than 35,000 people from the United States to Israel each year, in addition to routes in Europe and Asia.
Between flights, the “Sky Torah” will be kept in a synagogue at Ben Gurion. The Torah was donated by Julie and Richard Ehrlich of Aventura, Fla.
